NHS launches 'ADHD Taskforce' amid soaring rates of condition, with patients ... trends now
A new NHS taskforce will tackle the growing burden of ADHD amid waits of up to ten years for a diagnosis, officials say.
It will bring together experts from health, education and justice to better understand the impact of the condition and improve care.
NHS England says an initial review identified issues with capacity, medication supply, a lack of reliable data and a postcode lottery in services.
Record numbers of Britons are thought to be seeking help after celebrities including model Katie Price and Love Island star Olivia Attwood shared their own ADHD ordeals.
Social media sites are also full of users telling how medication helped to calm them down, control their fidgeting and boost their concentration.
Sheridan Smith, 42, has revealed she has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (pictured in 2023)
Fascinating graphs show how ADHD prescriptions have risen over time, with the patient demographic shifting from children to adults with women in particular now driving the increase
The World Health Organization defines attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as being a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that has a direct negative impact on academic, occupational, or social functioning.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates one in twenty children (5 per cent) and one in 29 adults (3 to 4 per cent) have the condition.
But NHS England believes the true figure may be higher.
It says it is unable to say how many people have a diagnosis or are waiting for an assessment because it does not have a consistent and complete dataset.
However, ADHD was the second most viewed health condition on the NHS website in 2023, after Covid-19, with 4.3million page views during the year.
Former Bake Off host Sue Perkins (left) last year shared that she had been diagnosed and that 'suddenly everything made sense - to me and those who love me'. Love Island's Olivia Atwood (right) said ADHD made her 'constantly overwhelmed'
Last year, Johnny Vegas (left) admitted he was in the 'early stages' of working through medication, after he was diagnosed with ADHD. Ben Fogle (right), who has previously spoken about being dyslexic, revealed this week that he was recently diagnosed with ADHD after a 'recent mental health storm'
Herefordshire and Worcestershire integrated care board warned in board papers last July of 'exceptionally high waiting times’ for ADHD assessment and treatment of ’10 years+’.
And a separate survey the same month showed children in Coventry and Warwickshire are waiting an average of 142 weeks (almost three years) for all neurodiverse first appointments, which covers ADHD and autism.
Meanwhile, NHS data shows more than 230,000 people in England are now taking drugs to control their condition, with prescriptions up 5 per cent in a year.
NHS England announced the launch of the ADHD Taskforce at its board meeting this afternoon, saying it hoped to improve data collection and care.
